Two Brave Souls & Turning the Tables

Before I headed out of town a couple weeks ago, I asked if anyone wondered about anything that we do (or don't do for that matter).

I really think more of you must think we're weird or a bit crazy and have questions about us, but only two of you spoke up.  Here's what you asked and some answers...

Michelle commented..."First, I want to say that I love, Love, LOVE your blog, and hope you will continue in the way you've been doing things. Another topic I'd like to hear more about, though, is your religious heritage. Also, do you know much about planting "by the signs?" I've never done this, but my great grandmother did, and she claimed it was scriptural. I'm on the fence about that issue."

As far as my religious heritage goes...both sets of my grandparents were/are Mennonite and raised their children (my parents) as such.  My parents have remained Mennonite and raised my four siblings and myself in the Mennonite church as well.  My grandmothers used to wear coverings to church, as did my mother when I was growing up, but they no longer do.  This was the only physical distinction between us and anyone else. 

My little family attends a Mennonite church as well and we value our denomination's distinctions, but I am a Christian first and foremost, then a Mennonite.  A really helpful website about Mennonites can be found here.  For a more expounded answer (from me), you might like to read an interview I did with Sarah over at Clover Lane last year found here.

As far as planting "by the signs", I've heard of this, but don't know a whole lot about it and have never tried it.

A couple questions from Vicki included..."I would love to know several things! (This might get a tad bit long!) The first thing I want to know is what you do with foods that you can or freeze but just don't want to use later in the year?"

If the food is something that I know we'll use, I'll keep it even if it's older than a year (although this is NOT recommended). If it's something new I canned that we ended up not liking, I feed it to the chickens or compost it before it gets old. 

"Second, is it a chore to come up with menus that use the food in your pantry/freezer and how do you do that? (I'm so guilty of going to the store and buying fresh when I should be using what's in our freezer/pantry and would love to learn to STOP DOING THAT! I'd also love to see menu samples please - especially winter ones - and how you come up with them (your thought process)."

Finding recipes that showcase what you've canned or froze is crucial.  It can be time consuming, but once you have a list of recipes that your family likes that uses what you have on hand is very worth the time.  Searching online by ingredient and in cookbooks gets you started but the key is to write down the winners and keep those recipes in a binder or box so you don't have to reinvent the wheel every year.

Planning your menus each week around what you have is the best way to use all that good food and hard work you've stored away.  Since this is how I cook throughout the winter, many of my recipes here are based on what we have on hand.  Your recipes may look differently because of what you choose to grow, but recipes are out there!

"How, exactly, do you get by with not buying things from a grocery store?...Do your kids BEG for things from a grocery store because you serve all homemade stuff? ...What do you buy from the store, both during the winter and all year long?"

We DO shop at the grocery store!  Just not for vegetables and fruits (except for the occasion when a staple crop fails or doesn't store, like onions) and rarely for meat.  Over time, we've learned how much fruit and vegetables we need to put up (or chickens to harvest) to get us through the year, but this takes time to discover.  Our kids enjoy packaged snacks when they get them at someone else's house or on trips, but know that we don't eat that way at home.  We're not overly strict (in my opinion) when special occasions come up, but we do try to maintain healthy eating habits at home.  Our kids understand that different families make different choices.

As far as what we buy from the store- it's basically the same all year:  baking supplies (sugar, flour, oats, etc.), whole wheat bread (I love the idea of making bread, but that's where it stops), cheese, pasta, rice, lentils, milk, canned beans, spices, tortillas, and special ingredients like sour cream, green salsa, etc. that certain recipes call for.  We certainly don't live completely self-sufficiently, so we are very thankful for our grocery store:-).

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May I take a turn?  I did this once awhile back and LOVED getting to know you all better.  If you're feeling brave today, tell me this...

1) Winter, spring, summer or fall?

2) Who pays the bills at your house- you or your spouse?

3) What saying or phrase are you known to over-use?

4) What was your favorite TV show as a kid?

5) If you could only grow one fruit or vegetable, what would it be?

6) Can you find gray hairs if you look?  Please tell me you can.

7) Do you blog?  If so, where?

8) If you went to college, what did you major in?  What do you now wish you had majored in?

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Eating Green

After a long winter (okay, well, not as long as some of you must endure), eating fresh green things is like winning the lottery.  Every day.  That may sound extreme, but since we don't buy fresh vegetables all winter long (except for onions this year because ours didn't keep), the crispy crunch of lettuce, spinach and asparagus really and truly is a treat.

Jamey and I have been eating large salads of lettuce and spinach topped with hard boiled eggs with lunch and dinner every day.  If you find yourself enjoying greens right now, too, you might want to check out these two salad dressing recipes we use- they both use honey in place of sugar and are outstanding.  And, here, you'll find two more dressing recipes and and a recipe for lettuce and egg salad (which does not contain egg salad).

In addition, every other day, we pick and eat (swoon) as much asparagus as has grown in that time.  We are currently getting about 7-10 spears each.  Sam and Sadie get a few each, too, but we don't waste any on Miriam.  She refuses to eat anything green.  And, yes, we're sure she's our child.

Jamey fell so hard after eating our first asparagus of the year and he promptly went out the next day and bought 50 more asparagus roots and planted them squarely in the garden.  Our established crowns are along a fence and while there is adequate light and space, they aren't producing as we'd like.  Some of the crowns have died off and even though we've planted additional ones each year we've been here (because we want more, More, MORE), we still don't have enough.  Fifty should fix things.  We're thrilled that some of them are coming up already.  Aren't they cute?

Here are a few other pictures of green things showing themselves right now in the garden...

 Our new strawberry bed.  We planted new plants last year because our old bed aged out.

 Garden (English) peas.

Onions (with a smattering of strawberries- this is where the old strawberry bed was).

Garlic

Lettuce and spinach just coming up in one of our new, larger cold frames.

More lettuce.

And more lettuce.

Well, they're not green but they were very interested (as always) in what I was doing.

Are you eating anything green yet? Pin It

Canopies & Whelks

I don't want to be one of those homeschooling parents that has to make every experience a learning one.  Sometimes fun times are just fun times and that's okay.

But, sometimes learning comes so naturally during fun times that it hardly feels like learning.  We had a couple of those experiences last week in Florida.  And I really love it when that happens.

We like low-key vacations, so our daily routine quickly became mornings at the beach and afternoons at the pool.  There were three exceptions.  On our last afternoon there, we watched a free (yipee!) ski show which included a young man ranked first in the world (in his age group) in barefoot skiing.  That was really cool... and a bit painful to watch.  How he doesn't get water up his...well, you know...is beyond me.

 

Another time we drove a half hour away and hunted for shark's teeth on a rocky beach known for it's toothy debris.  Do you know about shark teeth?  I didn't, so don't feel bad if you don't.  Sharks have several rows of teeth with the front row sometimes holding over 100 teeth.  They eat their prey so violently that some of those front teeth are bound to come out.  No worries.  The tooth behind the missing one (in the next row) simply moves up to take it's place and a new tooth begins to grow in the very back row.  This is why shark's teeth are so plentiful on certain beaches.



The third excursion was a trip to the largest state park in Florida, Myakka River State Park.  There, we went on a hour long air boat ride where not only did we learn a lot about the park's ecosystem, but we saw 13 alligators (by Sam's count) and a bald eagle.  We also climbed a 35 foot tower...

 

...walked along a 85 foot canopy suspension bridge and then climbed a second tower which reached 74 feet into the air.  At the top of the tower was a magnificent view.

 

Sam and Sadie had fun hunting for shells at the beach like a lot of kids do.  What made their finds even more fun is that over the past month, we've been studying about the creatures that inhabit those shells and learning all kinds of incredible things about them.













 

You know how sometimes you find a shell that has a perfectly round little hole in it?  Ever wonder what makes those little holes?  It was likely a whelk (a sea snail).  These seemingly sweet little creatures don't take no for an answer when the bivalve creature won't open it's shell to let the whelk devour it.  So, the whelk excretes a shell softener and uses their proboscis (a long stalk) to actually drill a hole into the shell and eat the soft creature inside.  Not so sweet now are they?

Oh!  And we can't forget to talk about sea stars (also called star fish).  They are such graceful and elegant creatures aren't they?  Well.  Did you know that instead of eating with it's mouth, the sea star's stomach actually comes out of it's body to begin eating it's prey?  When it has partially digested it, it moves back into it's body to finish the job.

We started reading about Cnidarians yesterday- creatures that belong to the phylum that includes jellyfish and sea anemones.  Let's just say I'm glad we didn't read about them before heading out to the beach.

I'll tell you what, though.  Sometimes it takes being in a different environment to get a fresh realization of what an amazing God we serve....

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Where I've Been

Driving fifteen hours through the night to Florida with three kids and then home again a week later wasn't as difficult as I had expected.  That's where I was last week- Florida.  We spent a glorious week with my brother and his wife- the first time we've seen them since they drove out of our town back in November.  Boy, did (and do) we miss them.

The break from all things computer-related came at a perfect time and I must admit that I am struggling a bit to get back into my usual routine of responding to emails, checking facebook and deciding what to write about here.

I have things to say and write about.  It's the finding the time to sit down, upload pictures and write it out that seems like the daunting task.  As does the laundry and the 80 million other things that I perceive need my attention (although I'm not as important as I think I am:-)).

To get me back into the swing of things around here, I thought I'd tell you a bit about our trip and save the photos for another day.

Miriam called the beach and sand (even if it was stuck to her feet in the van) "the messy sandbox".


I learned that my kids prefer the pool to the beach in the heat of the day, as I do.


Walking for three miles along the beach with Jamey while the kids were with their aunt and uncle is a fabulous way to watch the sun set.


I started reading In His Steps.  I don't know how I always end up reading these life-changing books on vacation.  They send my mind in a whirl.  More on this later.


We hunted for shark's teeth and found a few.  It was worth it even though I ended up with wet shorts and underwear.


No one got sunburned- a HUGE feat if I do say so myself.


We only ate out for one meal the whole week thanks to a couple of frozen casseroles I toted from home and my incredibly generous brother and sister-in-law who cooked for us all week and treated us like royalty.


I discovered, much to my amazement, that I think our family could live comfortably in a small, two bedroom condo if we ever need/want to.  We really have and live surrounded by so much more stuff than we need.  It's embarrassing.


Dutch Blitz is the funnest game EVER especially when the kids go to bed and just the adults get to play.


If you put the Easter eggs in the fridge first, the candy won't melt before the kids find it.  Even in Florida.


Attending another church's worship service now and again can be very meaningful.


NoDoze and Anne of Green Gables on CD are the perfect keep-me-awake-while-driving combination.


Palm trees are nice, but I'll choose our mountains, lush green grass and lilac bushes in bloom any day.


Even with 80 million things to do, it's good to be home. Pin It

The Winner & A Hiatus

 Without further ado, the winner of the Volume 2, Seeds of Faith CD (set of 2) is...

 Christy

Congratulations, Christy!!  Please email your name and mailing address to me at thyhand123@gmail.com ASAP and I will have your CD(s) sent to you.

And, please don't forget!  If you didn't win (or even if you did!), you can still save 20% on your order when you use the coupon code THYHAND.  This code is good until September 5, 2011, so make a note!  Thanks, Seeds Family Worship, for the discount and for helping us learn scripture:-).

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I will be taking a brief hiatus from blogging next week for a couple different reasons.  I've thought about re-posting some older posts like some people do, but then suspected you could use a hiatus from me, too:-).

I blog for two different (yet connected) reasons.  One, because I like to chronicle our life and what we are doing/thinking and two, I hope to be helpful by inspiring others to live a deliberate and meaningful life which might include gardening, chickening, eating well, and sharing our gifts all while keeping our eyes on the prize.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

I'm sharing this with you because I am wondering if there is something you'd like to ask me or something you'd like me to write about.  I'll still go on posting as I have been (blogging has become a bit like breathing), but I'm curious.  As you've read here over the years (or months or days), is there something you've wondered about or wished I would talk about?  If so, go on and shout it out.  It can be about anything.  Well, almost anything.  So, there you are- some food for thought over the next week.

You all are like neighbors to me.  I only wish we could lean over the fence and watch the chickens while we have these conversations. Pin It

Snapshots

I finally got around to taking some pictures outside yesterday.  It's too bad I didn't get to it the day before yesterday when it was gorgeous outside.  Instead, I dashed out between showers.

This is one of my very favorite times of the year (I have many).  The grass is green and lush.  There are pops of color (finally!) here and there thanks to the daffodils, tulips and hyacinths.  And, while the weeds are rearing their little heads, they haven't taken over completely yet, so I can enjoy my flowers without bemoaning the little weed-weasels that have the audacity to spring up right beside them.

On Monday, it was glorious here.  Windy, warm and lovely.  We opened windows wide, ate supper outside and walked our yard loop with Miriam over and over and over- first up to wave to the chickens, then down beside the raspberries, down the little hill, between the barns, up the driveway, stop and smell the flowers, then back up to wave to the chickens and start all over again.

There are two things I'm not so fond of currently.  One, is the fit Miriam has whenever we have to bring her back into the house again.  And two, the ants.  Yesterday, they showed their minuscule little faces in the house for the first time this year.  Ants + an old house + three crumb-dropping children + a mama who can't stand the buggers = a whole lot of angst on the mama's part from spring to fall, unfortunately.

Back to the loveliness (I'll do my best to contain the angst from here on out)...

The prettiest little purple flowers and wild lettuce (which Jamey has been eating) has taken over our sunflower bed.  What to do with this plot has been narrowed down to red raspberry bushes or sunflowers (for sale) again.

(Lettuce and spinach and in the cold frames, just above shows carrot bed on the left and broccoli on the right.)

The main garden (this is the right side of it), still looks pretty dismal, but if you look closely, life is coming up.  Jamey has planted garlic, onion, garden peas, snow peas, lettuce, spinach, beets, chard, carrots, white potatoes and broccoli.  The strawberry plants look healthy and promising.

 Red raspberries

 All four of our peach trees are in bloom.

 The sour cherry tree is in bud.

 The pear tree is loaded with blossoms.  You can see the back of our house and smoke house behind.

 What looks like rain damage is actually chicken damage.  They just love to take their dust baths right in front of the asparagus bed.  We think they're as excited about it coming up as we are.  And, while they don't try to eat the asparagus, they do love to scratch around it, so we have to protect our precious spears.

 Maybe most exciting is that almost all of our young apple trees are holding a few blooms each for the first time.  Being patient for fruit is hard, but one day, it will all be worth it.

We also planted a 2-3 year old nectarine tree this past week, but I forgot to get a picture of it.  It just looks like a stick in the ground at this point.

 Our chickens really don't like being told where they must roam.  Every spring, it's like dealing with a whole flock of stubborn toddlers.  We clip their wings and have to devise all manner of trickery to get them to stay put.  Above you can see that not only is a gate required, but we've had to top it with barb wire AND wire the gate to the fence because those little buggers try to squeeze past.  Don't feel bad for them. They still have the whole orchard to free range in.  But, like toddlers, they want to go where they're not supposed to.

 The first spring we lived here, I thought the grape hyacinth leaves were weeds and it wasn't until I pulled out a few handfuls did I notice the little bulbs attached and thought better of it.  The little fragrant flowers spread like crazy and that's just fine with me.  I love them.

 Speaking of spreading like crazy, my lily of the valley are threatening to take over my large flower bed.  That's okay with me, too.  I love them even more than the grape hyacinth.

 Somersault was begging to have her picture taken the whole time I was outside.  She's such a good kitty.

So, there you have it- what spring looks like around here. Tonight we dine on the first batch of asparagus.  Did I mention I love this time of year? Pin It